Lars Eller is headed back to the Washington Capitals. The organization announced they have acquired Eller from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third-round pick in 2027 and Chicago’s fifth-round pick in 2025.
Eller spent much of his career with the Capitals from 2016-17 until being traded to the Colorado Avalanche at the 2022-23 trade deadline. He’s not well known for his offensive exploits but did score one of the most important goals in Capitals history, the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
His time in Washington was certainly the prime of his career. Eller scored 87 goals and 208 points for the Capitals in 488 games, with another nine goals and 31 points in 59 postseason contests. He was also an effective asset down the middle of the ice securing over 3,000 faceoff wins in the District of Columbia with a 50.1% success rate.
The Capitals jumped early on an obvious area of need. The team had recently been deploying Michael Sgarbossa as the center of the team’s third line making Eller a huge improvement. The Danish veteran had scored four goals and seven points in 17 games for the Penguins this season with a 56.0% faceoff success rate. Eller could also help the Capitals on the penalty kill although there’s little room for improvement with the team already fourth in the league with a 86.96% penalty kill.
While one team gains something, another team loses something. The Penguins currently own a 6-9-2 record on the year and are only one day removed from being blown out by the Dallas Stars. Moving Eller may be the first sign of things to come for Pittsburgh.
He wasn’t the only veteran on an expiring deal for the Penguins. Should the team continue barreling toward the bottom of the NHL standings; Marcus Pettersson, Drew O’Connor, Anthony Beauvillier, and Matt Grzelcyk could become available via trade. Given how disappointing the team has been to start the 2024-25 campaign, they may not limit themselves to only moving out expiring deals.
Can’t complain with that return. The Pens are a team with a first line and three 4th lines.
OK return. He was one of the few guys who actually tried.
Still not sure why we traded Yager.
Trade everyone for picks. Then trade for cap dumps and more picks. Hope you have accidentally assembled a Bad News Bears motley crew that goes on a run. If not…you’ve got the picks.
PS- I’d like to see Glass tried at center on a scoring line when healthy. Put Geno back with Sid and try it.
Should have started to do that three offseasons ago. Or two. Or one. Except enough yinzers kept banging the “We Can’t Waste Sid’s Last Years” drum to get FSG’s attention.
Trade people for picks? Great idea. Except Sid’s on a full NMC. Geno’s on a full NMC. Rust’s on a full NMC. EK’s on a full NMC. Letang’s on a full NMC. They have SEVEN other players on various no trade clauses.
Who’s left that they CAN move? Glass is on IR. No one’s going to take on Grzelcyk’s salary for the role he remains capable of playing. There are too many mediocre goalies out there who can do what Ned can do, at half the cap hit. Beauviller’s about the only asset they have left with value at a decent price.
Perhaps if your core had won you 3 Cups in 4 appearances instead of 1 Cup in 3 appearances, you’d respect them more. The overall trajectory remains the same. I’m talking about moving deck chairs. Churn can create bonus assets.
But, also, your premise is that as soon as a team is no longer a legit contender, they should instantly tear it down…so the B’s should hold a firesale now, then?
Bergy gone. Lindholm was a 3C on a Canucks team that fell short but now he’s a 1C? Marchy getting old quick. Monty is the modern Hitch in St. Louis, his system is worth a goal a game less in the regular season but doesn’t work in the playoffs. They keep having to fill out the roster with warm bodies like JVR and Tyler Johnson. Fourth worst goal differential in the East.
Pasta is carrying the team, his value will never be higher, should they move him? McAvoy?
To be fair, the recent history of both teams is a contrast:
BOSTON:
2025 – Currently 3rd
2024 – 2nd
2023 – 1st (most NHL wins ever)
2022 – 4th
2021 – 3rd
2020 – 1st
2019 – 2nd (lost Stanley Cup Final in game 7)
PENS:
2025 – Currently 7th
2024 – 5th (no playoffs)
2023 – 5th (no playoffs)
2022 – 3rd (1st round exit)
2021 – 1st (1st round exit)
2020 – 3rd (lost COVID qualifier)
2019 – 3rd (1st round exit)
Boston still has an elite scorer (Pasta), a strong d-core, and good goaltending. They are arguably a few good stretches away from contention. But if the secondary scoring doesn’t kick in I can see them making some moves.
There is a fine line between respecting core players that won you championships and sending a torpedo into your organization for the better part of a decade which is what they have done.
I have enormous respect for those players… Sid especially but at the end of the day you have to make difficult decisions, that’s why they pay front office people lots of money.
They could have kept Sid, but traded guys like Malkin, Letang, and Rust for absolute hauls. They were not even remotely Cup contenders when they made that decision, they would be looking at several first round picks, elite prospects, and/or young roster players if they had done that. They would be looking at an instabuild, this year or next… and they could have resigned any of those players or used that cap space to bring in younger free agents and move forward.
Instead they have a roster where we are 17 games into the season and they have one goal scored by a player 25 years old or younger which is nothing short of astonishing.
At the end of the day, when you avoid uncomfortable moves and make easy decisions that appease the fans, you won’t take any heat… you’ll just quietly get fired several years into a run where the team goes 9 years without a playoff game.
Do we celebrate the 1993 Pens or the 2008 Pens or do we celebrate the 91 92 09 16 and 17 Pens?
I’ll take our run quite gladly over theirs.
Two things…
Had two or three shootouts gone the other way, we make the playoffs both of the past two years…and we’d be at 20 consecutive playoff berths…this constant rewrite that we’ve been bottom feeders for half a decade is just not based in reality.
This team, while not great or possibly even good, is much better than they are currently playing. Again, if Sully thinks THIS is a team that “cares”, let’s get a coach with eyes that still work.
But, unless your/their answer is trade Sid or let his career die on the vine on a bottom feeder, they aren’t going to do a tear down. A piecemeal rebuild makes you BUF or OTT or Utah where you tear down, suffer, rebuild, suffer and STILL only end up with a bubble team.
Chicago’s core collapsed sooner than ours for a variety of reasons, but that’s the model. You have to have top 3 picks, not top ten picks.
I get that no one wants to pay the credit card bills after the 20 year shopping spree, but this is the price.
At least, we actually won our Cups. Not like the Sharks or Leafs or Oilers or Rangers, etc.
You’re saying there are still decisions to make, there really aren’t any. It’s over. They already made them.
It will take them a very long time to climb out of this, probably 8 years or so.
They have no developing players, and an empty farm system. Once they tear down (should be…*checks watch*… tomorrow) it will be 4 or 5 years until they even vaguely see some light at the end of the tunnel, let alone sniff a playoff spot.
Not sure what a piecemeal rebuild would even look like because of the lack of young talent, farm system, and draft picks.
If they do try to extend being competitive, you’re looking at what would basically be the NHL equivalent of bankruptcy. To me they are in code red and should be looking to trade Malkin now, and any other non-Sid assets well before the deadline.
Now is the time to bottom out and start rooting for the ping pong balls, acquiring real assets (not third round picks), and clearing the decks.
Malkin is the obvious one, not sure how Letang is playing but those are two chips that might get you something meaningful, if you can ship them someplace they want to go and eat some salary.
Not sure Dubas is the guy to do this, either. Personally I think he’s been a train wreck since he got there.
“Now is the time to bottom out and start rooting for the ping pong balls.”
Again, they won’t bottom out while Sid is still here, so that’s the choice. He’s staying.
And if you root for ping pong balls you end up picking 8th and your rebuild fails.
I fully understand that a steaming pile of ashes is the destination. I accept and understand it.
The core isn’t going anywhere (and nor should they, Geno has 18 in 17 and let me see Letang without Grezehckelkzykck and if he’s still bad, then tag his toe) and Dubas is doing what he should (trading for assets a few years down the line when we actually do bottom out) in theory.
Trading Geno for a #27 pick years ahead of that pile of picks just doesn’t help much.
Move guys like Eller for things like a 2027 third. Become a dumping ground for bad deals like the Habs and Yotes did a few times and get picks down the line. Then bring up your transitional young players (MOST of whom won’t be part of the rebuild). Develop guys like McGroarty, Broz, the guys they got for Jake and then trade them in their primes. And THEN you are sitting on a mountain of picks while earning top 5 picks yourself.
Short of that and you join the mushy middle. No thanks. I’ll take the pain and play the long game.
I agree about joining the mushy middle, it’s the road to nowhere. But I don’t think any of the scenarios you mentioned regarding contending any time soon are even remotely possible.
I also think Dubas is a problem, I think he snowed a lot of people who had him as some kind of wunderkind.
The Pens have been abysmal in drafting and player development for quite a while now. Their player evaluation seems awful.
You’d think with Dubas they would have a rocking analytics department… I have been told by people who would know that their analytics department is pretty dysfunctional.
It’s really, really hard to find people within the game who discuss analytics but the proof is in the pudding. Dubas hired a whole slew of people but sometimes less is more in that area. Florida has been great at it, I’ve heard that Washington has made great strides as well.
They have made some great moves over the past year or two. (Except for denying us all CapFriendly lol)
Washington has used the Florida playbook and used assets/cap space to bring in young players who have struggled in other places instead of aging veterans or rentals for “the big push”.
They have really, really sharp people in there now.
“But I don’t think any of the scenarios you mentioned regarding contending any time soon are even remotely possible.”
I have never once mentioned contending any time soon. Not once. I have talked about putting our best foot forward while Sid still chases 2,000 points and then rebuilding from a pile of dust.
The Caps currently have a better team. So what? They’re still not a true contender and they’ll end up in the mush when done.
Our roster is not that bad IF….IF…IF we didn’t have so many dogs. If Bunting played like good Bunting, he’d be good. If EK wasn’t a lazy moping D bag and played anything like a first ballot HOF’er, he’d be good.
And, of course, if we could get a save. Not much you can do when your goalies are this bad.
Maybe Eller goes to the 2nd line and PLD to the 3rd!
Wonder what kind of salary eating it would take to move Karlsson. Either way keep Rakell on the first line with Crosby and Malkin and try and sell high if possible cause that contract will only diminish in value. Sullivan’s playing style is killing Petersson’s value at the moment so hopefully he can regain some form after the holidays. Wouldn’t be surprised if a team comes calling on Ned closer to the deadline as well.
Karlsson no one is taking him . His year in San Jose showed . Always be careful even on a bad team someone plays on power play. Giving them a chance too get meaningless numbers.
Eller works his butt off, unlike many of his now former teammates. But at his age and salary I can’t really complain about this move. The Pena aren’t going anywhere this year.
This is a shot fired into the Pens’ locker room which was warranted and quite frankly overdue. The leash on this team in terms of “keeping the band together” is going to be much shorter this year and if mediocrity continues then more people will leave town as Dubas blows it up for the future. It will be interesting to see how the team responds.
The only firing the Pens should be doing is Sullivan.
That will be the last resort. This is a shot across the bow for sure.
Saying this team “cares” while not scratching the passengers…might be time.
Hire BBQ Bruce and try for a 2019 Blues run.
The 2019 Blues… the team that gives every sinking ship false, delusional hope lol.
That team was chock full of really good, prime era players like O’Reilly, Tarasenko, Pietrangelo, Parayko, Schenn, etc. who were all 26/27 years old and primed for a deep playoff run.
Pretty different scenario. There is no way you’re making a deep playoff run in the modern NHL with 37-38 year old players doing all the heavy lifting and zero help from any young legs.
It’s just not reality.
2019 Blues meet the 1967 Leafs.
Petersson will be next and should fetch a decent return
Don’t count on that until the deadline.
Roster-wise, the Caps are in a similar bind:
Preseason Odds (Stanley Cup)
Pens +5000
Caps +6600
Yet:
Pens 6-9-2
Caps 10-4-0
Crosby 17 6 10 16 -5
Ovechkin 14 10 8 18 +9
The Pens are doing less with more.
The Caps are doing more with less. Much more.
The Pens have to dump Crosby and rebuild.
The Caps can make the playoffs and keep Ovechkin.
The Caps have a great formula. They have a bigger body in almost every roster spot than other teams and they win more 1 on 1 battles.
Too many teams saw what the Pens did in 16 and 17 with speed and almost the whole league went small.
The teams that stayed big are the ones that have won the Cups.
Dubas seems to know this (Hayes, Puljjarvi, Glass, etc.) but the D and G imploding has obscured the improved bottom six.
Dubas can’t trade Crosby even if he wanted to. The ownership has to sanction it. And the ownership would have to ask Crosby.
With Crosby, lottery picks drop into teen territory, for as many years as he remains.
A team with 3 lottery picks should be a Cup contender. A team with 3 teen picks might make the playoffs.